Naruto Shippuuden 21: A Time To Harvest
by rylansato
Summary: Still on the island that harbors villagers of the former Hidden Crystal, the Konoha team figures out that their original mission is turning into a deadly confrontation. The Leaf Team must uncover the truth to prevent a disaster of catastrophic proportions
1. An Attack and a Flashback

Naruto Shippuuden: A Time to Harvest

The team from Konoha leapt through the village on their way to the outer rim. Multiple thoughts raced through Aoba's mind that this attack was an act of sabotage from within the ranks of the village. Was someone trying to instill terror in the rest of the community? Were they extremists pursuing some as yet unknown agenda and hoping to extract a measure of conciliation from the Hidden Crystal? If so, how far were they willing to go for their cause? Was their team or even Konoha in danger? That this was the second such rescue mission they had mounted since arriving in the system was also a point not lost on Aoba.

The first time, they arrived as soon as they could and the result of their lateness resulted in the loss of a few villagers. They saved most of them but they could've saved more if they had gotten there sooner. A sour taste filled Aoba's mouth at the thought of those they had failed to save; a feeling that had not lessened no matter how much he had tried to dwell on the others they had saved.

_We'll just have to do better this time, won't we?_

Further complicating things for Aoba was their absent friends. They had the majority of the team but Gin and Satori were out in the village somewhere. They weren't at full strength but they could make do with out them, hopefully.

They cleared the tree line and to their shock. They all halted and stared in horror.

"What the hell?" Aoba said.

"All those people." Hanako said.

The entire area was flat and structures were destroyed. Nothing remained. Aoba turned to Yukino who was scanning the area with her Sekigan.

"Anything?"

She shook her head without looking to him. She kept her gaze fixed on the scene.

_We were too late._

Nidan stood with a group of his subordinates on top of the highest point of the island. From this spot he could see the entire village. He did more hand seals and ended the sequence with a clap. He then raised his hands into the air and more lightning shot down. The lightning didn't strike the village, it struck his subordinates. They all transformed from humans into dark skinned creatures with wings; almost devil like. The only human like form they kept were the two arms, two legs and one head. Instead of vocalizing words, all they did was screech and howl. They were no longer humans.

"Now go, my minions. Go and eliminate the team from Konoha." Nidan said.

The black beasts lifted into the air and flew towards the village.

On the occasions that he had been taken hostage during his career, Shiranui Satori had been thrown into all manner of holding cells. This one in particular was made of a special stone that prevented chakra use. He liked this idea better than the idea the Rock had by implanting something in his chest to prevent chakra use. He therefore considered himself at least somewhat of an informed authority on what it was like to be detained by a hostile party.

Comparatively speaking, the space he and Gintokin found themselves in now was an utter pit.

"I see they spared no expense with our accommodations," Satori said as he paced the length of the room, which he had already measured to be five steps.

Following their capture, the two ninjas were stripped of their weapons and brought to this place. Satori had not been able to ascertain their location. Satori noticed that Gin wasn't as calm as he usually was. Something was stirring within him and Satori wanted to know what. They had time so there was no time like the present.

"Gin, what's going on with you?"

"That's the first time you've called me by my real name."

"What are you talking about? We call you Gin because it's short for Gintokin."

"But when I'm in my normal state I usually like to be called Kin. Because of my relaxed state it doesn't really bother me. However, when I'm like this I want to be called Gin."

"Ok, note to self, Kin when he's relaxed and Gin when he's angry. Got it." Satori said.

Satori got a good look at Gintokin's lowered face and saw that his normally half open eyes were fully opened and almost like they were full of rage.

"What is it, Gin?" Satori asked.

"They took it."

"Took what?"

"My love."

It took Satori a moment to realize what he was meaning. It was his Katana.

"Yeah, they took both of my sai. We'll get them back."

Gin looked up at Satori as if he was a little kid and had just been promised to go to the toy store if he ate all of his vegetables.

"Now talk to me. Why are you Gin now instead of Kin?"

"I get like this when people touch my love. No one is allowed to touch it."

Satori remembered at the island of Soukutsu that Gin nearly freaked out when a Mist ninja touched his sword.

"Why is that?"

"Because it was the last."

"The last what?"

"The last thing she ever gave me."

FLASHBACK

Five year old Gintokin walked down the streets of Konoha. He walked by himself with his hands in his pockets. He really wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere other than to get home on time for dinner. His sister's cooking was second to none in Konoha, in his opinion. Everything his sister made was exquisite and nothing short of that.

He turned the corner and the next thing he knew was the ground coming up fast to meet his face. As soon as he recovered from his fall, he rolled to his side to see how he had fallen. A group of boys that were not much older than him stood there, pointing and laughing.

"How are your parents, Gin? Oh that's right, you don't have any." One boy said.

In a flash, Gintokin was back on his feet and the others were on their backs. They attempted to get up and run but Gintokin was too fast for them. He grabbed them and slammed them up against the wall and beat all of them into submission.

Later that night, he stood with his head down and on the verge of tears. His 16 year old sister stood in front of him and relentlessly yelled at him.

"I HAVE ENOUGH GOING ON WITHOUT YOU BEING A PUNK AND GETTING TO FIGHTS FOR STUPID REASONS."

"But, Nee-san, they made fun of me because I have no parents."

"SO WHAT? YOU SHOULDN'T GET HYPED UP ABOUT SOME LITTLE THING. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HERE DON'T HAVE PARENTS? I LOST COUNT.

Everything Gintokin could come up with to defend himself against his sister's onslaught was immediately shot down by his sister.

"YOU CAN'T GET INTO FIGHTS JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE MAKES FUN OF YOU. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Gintokin nodded. His sister handed him a plate of food.

"Here. Go eat in your room tonight. I'm so disgusted with you right now I don't even want to look at you."

Gintokin took the plate and headed to his room. Hearing his sister's harsh words caused more tears to fall from his control and onto his plate.

_I promise, Nee-san. I promise not to fight out of anger again. I'll make you proud of me._

As he headed up to his room, his sister leaned against the counter with her head down, collecting her thoughts. Then without warning, her body convulsed viciously as she went into a tangent of coughs. When she stopped cough, she lowered her hand and noticed a small pool of blood rested in her palm.

"Damn."

END FLASHBACK

The group from Konoha walked through the village. The sky had become overcast and it looked as if it was going to storm. Lightning even came shot through the sky. They didn't talk much due to their latest failure of getting to the outer rim on time to save those people. Then they heard a bunch of screeching and howling.

They turned around to see a group of winged humanoid bat creatures headed their way.

"What the hell?" Aoba asked.

The creatures swooped in as the Konoha ninjas leapt out of the way.

"What are those things?" Hanako asked.

"I have no idea. I've never seen anything like them before." Aoba said.

The creatures turned and headed back towards the Leaf team.

"They're coming around again." Junshin said.

The team launched kunai and shuriken at the creatures but they were more agile than they appeared. They just maneuvered around the weapons as they got closer to their targets.

"Let's try this." Aoba said as he did a series of handseals that ended with Tiger.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu." (Fire Element: Great Fireball Technique)

Aoba blew a giant fireball at their attackers and hit three of them dead on. The three winged creatures flew right through the fireball and continued on their course towards them.

"Damn it. It didn't even faze them."

The Konoha ninjas dove out of the way again as the creatures swooped through and back into the overcast sky. They disappeared just as the lighting flashed again.

"Why didn't your Katon jutsu work on those…whatever they are?" Junshin asked.

"I don't know but I don't like it." Aoba said as he continued to walk towards their original destination.


	2. Doubts

Aoba and his team stood in front of Daiyajin in his office.

"Aoba," Daiyajin said by way of greeting, and Aoba saw that the events of the day were most definitely taking their toll on the village leader. The leader's eyes seemed heavier and he appeared to stand stoop shouldered.

"I have no words that could possibly begin to offer sufficient apology for what has happened."

Daiyajin held up his hand, stopping Aoba from saying anything further. "Aoba, did you intend deliberate harm towards us?"

His voice was tired, but Aoba still picked up the strain behind the words. The jonin paused for a moment before answering, realizing as he did so that he had actually allowed his mouth to fall open in surprised response to Daiyajin's blunt question.

Schooling his features to resume his normal, composed expression, Aoba said, "Of course not. We were as horrified to learn of what had happened as you undoubtedly were."

"I somehow doubt that, Aoba." Daiyajin said. "As I am sure you are aware, Aoba, today's unfortunate events have caused a significant amount of unrest among the villagers. Many are calling for an immediate departure and severing contact with you altogether." The small, tired smile returned as he added, "Naturally we have no means of expelling you from our village or of taking any other form of offensive action against you, but I am being pressured to ask you and your team to leave. Don't worry, Aoba. You and your team have more than proven your sincerity. I believe those who do not currently share my opinion can be swayed but it will take time."

Aoba nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Someone is coming."

Dozing fitfully in his cot, Satori opened his eyes at the sound of Gin's voice.

"How many this time?" Satori asked as he rose to a sitting position.

Listening to sounds, Gin replied, "Only one, though he may not even be coming here."

"But if he is, this might be our chance." Satori said, the first root of a plan already forming in his mind. "If we can get the drop on him, do you think we can get out of here and back to the team?"

Gin nodded. "But we'll have to do something before we leave this place."

"Which is?"

"I want my katana."

FLASHBACK

The ten year old Gintokin ran down the streets of Konoha. He sported his new Chuunin vest that he got for his participation in the final round of the Chuunin exam. Although he made it to the next to last round and ended up losing, because of the skills and abilities he showed, the Third Hokage made him a Chuunin. He sprinted into his house to see his sister lying on the couch. He knew she was ill and had been for sometime. She was still strong enough to do what she had been doing but one could see some deterioration of her health.

"Nee-san, look at my new vest. Hokage-sama promoted me."

"That's good, Nii-chan."

"I'm becoming somebody that can take care of you. That's what I'll become. Someone that will be strong and take care of you so you don't have to do anything anymore."

A smile crept across his sister's face. "I know you will. You'll grow up to be a strong man one day." His sister sat up more as she changed the subject. "You know what tomorrow is?"

"Not really other than Saturday." Gintokin said.

"It's your eleventh birthday."

"Really?"

"Yeah and to celebrate your birthday and your promotion, we'll go out to eat."

Gintokin leaned over and hugged his sister tightly.

"I love you, nee-san."

"I love you too."

END FLASHBACK

The door to the cell opened and revealed a guard holding a tray. Both Satori and Gintokin remained seated on their cots and the guard stayed in the doorway as he knelt down to place the tray on the floor. "There is water here," he said, pointing to a large bottle. "And food on the plate."

"Sounds delicious." Satori said, making no effort to keep the sarcasm from his voice. Forcing himself not to make eye contact with Gintokin, in case he alert the guard to what was coming, the young jonin moved to stand up. "What do you call…?"

The question turned into a grunt of surprise as he stepped forward and felt his leg held back, throwing him off balance. Satori almost fell to the floor. He noticed that his pant leg got caught on the bed frame.

His unfortunate tumble did have the effect of startling the guard, however. The guard steeped to his left to avoid becoming entangled as Satori attempted to catch himself, causing him to move closer to Gintokin. He quickly realized his mistake but not before the jonin lunged from his cot. His hands grabbed the guard's head and quickly twisted it, snapping the guard's neck.

"Well done, Gin." Satori said. "Now let's go get our weapons back."

Nidan still stood in the desolate area as his minions returned. Once they landed they bowed. Even though the creatures seemed savage and unintelligent, they seemed to know who their master was. At that point, Kalsha also appeared. He too bowed.

"Report." Nidan said.

"Nidan-sama, the Konoha team is under scrutiny by the villagers because of what I did to the outer rim. Daiyajin-sama is still hopeful that they can help but he also has his doubts. Two of their members have been captured and are being detained. The rest of the team is unaware of their capture."

"Excellent. Execute the two members you have and I'll send my minions out to take care of the rest."

"It shall be done, Nidan-sama."

Kalsha stood up and disappeared. Nidan turned to his winged followers.

"Go. Go and kill the Konoha team."

The winged creatures howled and screeched as they flew into the air. Nidan was left to his thoughts as he watched them fly off.

_Once the team from Konoha is taken care of, I'll be able to complete the rest of my plan and no one will stop me._


	3. Escape, Flashback, Rescue

Satori and Gintokin carefully stalked the corridors of the building they were in.

"We need to hurry." Satori said. "It won't be long before that guard's buddies figure out that he's missing."

They stopped at each intersection, Gintokin using his better hearing and Satori using his Sekigan to check for the approach of potential enemies. Not knowing how many people were involved in this scheme. They turned a corner to the right. Satori heard the sound of footsteps and voices in the corridor and moving towards them.

The turn in the corner was behind them too far away to reach before whoever was coming saw them. They heard the occasional laugh, it seemed as though the conversation was a genial one.

_Good, they're not on alert or looking for us. Yet._

The footsteps were loud now, only one or two more seconds before they…

The guards turned left into the intersection and nearly barreled into Gintokin.

"What…?"

Satori was about to take out the guards but Gintokin wasted no time lunging at the pair with both hands extended. The ninja's right hand grabbed one of the guards by the neck and pulled him to the ground, while using the guard's weight as leverage to kick the other one in the face. The guard slammed into the wall but didn't fall. He reached for his weapon but his chin and back of the head was grabbed by Satori and his head was quickly twisted. Now the guard dropped.

"Come on. We're not far from where they put our weapons." Gintokin said as he began down another corridor.

"How do you know where they are?"

"Because I have a special bond with my katana."

FLASHBACK

A year had passed since Gintokin had become a Chuunin. His missions were a bit more exciting and worthwhile. He had become a great asset to Konoha and had made his sister proud. He walked through the main gates of Konoha, coming back from a mission. He waved to some people he knew that he passed on the way to his house. All and all today wasn't too bad, the day was decent, the mission went well and most of all today was his birthday.

He opened the door to his house and stood there in horror. His sister was lying face down on the floor.

"NEE-SAN!" He said as he rushed over to her side.

He pulled her over to where she was face up. "Nee-san, what's wrong. Wake up."

There was no response from her.

Later that day, his sister lied in a hospital bed with Gintokin by her side. He had never left her. He had his face down on the side of her bed as he held her hand. Without warning, he felt a slight squeeze of his hand. He looked up to his sister.

"Cheer up, Nii-chan."

"I can't. Not with you in here. You're everything to me. If anything happened to you…"

His sister coughed viciously into her free hand. There was blood in her hand again and she closed her hand before taking it away from her mouth so that her brother wouldn't see it.

"I'm sorry." She said softly.

She slowly opened and closed her eyes as if she was getting tired.

"I want you to promise me something." She said.

"Anything." He replied.

"Promise me that you'll never hurt anyone out of anger and that you'll grow up to be a great ninja."

"I promise, Nee-san."

"I…love you …Nii-chan." She said.

"I love you too, Nee-san."

Gintokin noticed that the brightness in her green eyes faded. His sister closed her eyes and would never open them again. Gintokin's eyes widened as he loosened his grip on his sisters hand that fell to the bed.

"Nee-san? Nee-san? Wake up, Nee-san." He stood up and began to rock her as if she was asleep. Gintokin knew she wasn't asleep. "NEEEEE-SAAAAAN!!!!!"

A day later, Gintokin stood in his house with the Third Hokage. The Third had stopped by personally to give Gintokin his sister's will. Gintokin sat in the chair with the unraveled scroll in his hands, slightly crying. He tried not to cry in front of the Hokage but he couldn't help it.

"She's had this for awhile but she kept it a secret from everyone except me and a few doctors. She didn't want to worry you." The Third said."

"The doctors couldn't do anything?"

The third shook his head. "When she found out it was untreatable, she came to me to help her put her will together. She left everything to you, Gintokin."

Gintokin opened the scroll and read it.

Later that day, with the Third's words still in his mind, he went underneath the house and found a long slender container buried in the dirt. The dirt didn't match the rest of the ground and looked like it had been recently disturbed. He opened the container and found a katana and a note. Before grabbing the weapon he opened the note. It was addressed to him from his sister.

_To my dearest Gintokin,_

_If you are reading this then it means that I have passed on and that my will has been delivered to you. As the will states, the family treasure has been entrusted to you which is this sword. This will be my last birthday present to you. This sword has been in the family for generations going back to when Konoha was first built. I apologize that I have kept my sickness a secret from you for so long. When I found out that I was diagnosed with Tuberculosis, I didn't have the heart to break yours. I didn't want you worrying about me all the time and I wanted you to grow up with your mind set on being a ninja and not on other things to distract you. It wouldn't be fair to you. So far you have grown up to be a ninja that any sister would be proud of. I am very much so proud of you and if mom and dad were here they would be too. You've done a fine job for me and this village. Remember I love you and always will._

_Love, your sister, Midori_

END FLASHBACK

Gintokin and Satori reached the room where their weapons were being held. They were only guarded by one guard. The guard was startled enough to reach for the wrong weapon, Gintokin's sword. When his hand touched the hilt, Gintokin's eyes changed from their light gold state to silver. He leapt across the room with blinding speed, not giving the guard enough time to react. He grabbed the guard by his throat and slammed him to the ground. Gin grabbed his sword off the table and in a fluid motion; he unsheathed it, sliced through the guard's neck and re-sheathed it. Satori had a hard time keeping up with his motions. Satori grabbed his two sai weapons off the table and holstered them along with his weapons pouch that his placed on the back of his belt. He even put a new senbon in his mouth. Their radios were still intact. Satori picked up his and activated it.

"Aoba-sensei, do you hear me?" Satori said, releasing the button on the collar to listen for a response. When none came, he repeated himself. "Aoba-sensei, do you read me?" More static greeted him at first, but then the channel cleared.

"Satori?" A faint voice said, barely audible. "It's Aoba, where have you been?"

Stifling the urge to laugh at the very legitimate question, Satori instead replied, "It's a long story, Aoba-sensei."


	4. Suetsukata

Nidan stood at the shore of the northern beach. It was the closest point of their current home to the spot where their former home lied. Kalsha appeared next to him and kneeled with his head lowered.

"Nidan-sama, I bring bad news. The two prisoners escaped and are on their way to meet with their team."

Nidan didn't say anything at first. He looked as if he were thinking hard on the words that Kalsha spoke. After a few seconds had passed, Kalsha raised his head, wondering why Nidan had not responded.

"Ni…"

"No matter, Kalsha." Nidan said. "It's time for me to put the destruction of this forsaken place in motion."

_You really have a one track mind, Nidan-sama._ Kalsha thought to himself.

Nidan made more handseals, faster than what Kalsha could make out. One thing he did know, Nidan had used all twelve handseals for this jutsu. Kalsha noticed that the waves began to get larger and the water slamming into the shore was getting more violent. Watching the destruction beginning to take shape, he was beginning to wonder if this was the right thing to do. Nidan had always told him that this was not their home and they belonged elsewhere. Kalsha was usually quick to follow but for some reason, this time was different. He was beginning to think that the villagers, losing their lives was senseless.

"Ok get here as soon as you can." Aoba said before letting go of the activation button on his radio collar.

He was rather pleased to hear Satori and Gintokin were safe and on their way back. It was now time for him to find out why his two colleagues were held captive. He decided it was time for them to head to Daiyajin's office as soon as Satori and Gintokin returned. This mission has been one surprise after another. Then another surprise happened; the ground started shaking. It only lasted for a few moments but it seemed like forever. People screamed in fright as they ran from the buildings and away as if nature was something they could run from. Just then a tornado touched down on one side of the island. The Konoha team could clearly see the twister from their position.

"What the hell is going on?" Tenten asked.

"Suetsukata." Aoba said.

"Looks like it, doesn't it?" Seika said.

"Suetsukata?" Hanako asked.

"Suetsukata, Armageddon, Ragnarok. There are a lot of words for it but they all add up to the same thing; the end of the world."

"Somehow someone has set in motion the events that will lead to the end of the world."

Lightning shot in random directions across the sky followed by thunder. The Konoha team looked back and saw the return of the creatures they fought earlier.

"Damn, not these things again." Yukino said.

"Okay let's try this again." Junshin said.

Tenten rolled out her large scroll and summoned a barrage of weapons. Some weapons were launched at the creatures while others were sent straight up into the air. Junshin reached into his pouch and pulled out a handful of needles. He too launched them into the air with Tenten's weapons. Junshin did a sequence of handseals. Dragon, Dog, Rabbit, Monkey, Ram.

"Kanamono no ame no jutsu." (Metallic rain technique)

The needles turned into their molten state and covered Tenten's weapons. The weapons then stuck into the creatures but it looked like they didn't even feel it. Junshin wasn't done yet.

"Raiton: Inabikari no jutsu." (Lightning Element: Lightning from cloud to cloud technique)

Lightning shot from the sky and struck the molten covered weapons that were stuck in the creatures. They felt that attack. They all howled in pain as the lightning bolts continued to strike them.

"Still not done." Junshin said.

He lifted up his index and middle fingers on his right hand. "KATSU!"

Tenten's weapons exploded, taking the creatures along with them. Body parts from the creatures landed all around them.

"I thought you had to touch the weapons in order for you to make them explode." Hanako asked.

"The molten needles had my chakra in them and covered Tenten's weapons. That's enough for me to make them explode without physically touching them."

"Let's head to Daiyajin's office. I want to know a few things." Aoba said.

At that point, lightning struck the ground, more specifically, the body parts of the creatures. The body parts rose into the air and then glowed brightly. When the glowing died down, the body parts were replaced with the creatures. The eyes of the Konoha team were wide with shock.

"They were put back together by the lightning." Hanako said.

"That's a negative." Seika said. "There are more of them now. Each separate body part was turned into a creature. We might have to completely incinerate them to destroy them."

The creatures descended hard towards the ground and began another assault. Their second attack was more violent than the previous. No matter what the Leaf ninjas did, nothing seemed to work on these creatures. They'd dodge their weapons attacks; prevent them from doing handseals to do any sort of jutsu.

"We could really use Satori and Kin right about now." Junshin said.

Yukino was not one to disagree. She was able to fend one off by grabbing its head and throwing it into a nearby wall. However, as soon as she turned around she was tackled by another creature. The creature sat on top of her and continued its attack. She did her best to defend herself but its attack was relentless. The creature lifted its hands into the air and its claws became larger. If anyone got impaled by one of those, it would do some serious damage. It cocked back its arms at an angle that Yukino noticed wasn't aimed at her head. It was aimed at her stomach.

_Oh shit, the baby._

She tried harder to get the creature off of her but it was to no avail.

Suddenly, two weapons came from no where and pierced the creature's chest and threw him back to the wall.

"Katon: Gokakyu." (Fire Element: Great Fireball) A voice said.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa." (Wind Element: Great Breakthrough) Another said.

"Kasai Kadou no jutsu." (Fire Vortex Technique) The voices said in unison.

The two attacks met and created a large flaming vortex that engulfed some of the creatures. The vortex died down and there was nothing left of the creatures that were swallowed up by the attack. The Leaf ninjas looked back to see Gintokin holding his sword horizontally above his head and Satori spinning his sais in his hands.

"Now they're in for it." Satori said.


	5. Taking Ourselves With It

With the return of Satori and Gintokin, the Leaf team was at full strength number wise but not physically. They weren't exhausted by it did take a bit out of them trying to fight off the winged creatures. The remaining creatures seemed to realize that the Konoha team could beat them so they took to the sky and flew off.

"That's a bit rude." Satori said. "They start a party but don't see it to the end."

He helped Yukino to her feet. Yukino saw the "Are you okay?" question in his eyes. She nodded before he was able to ask it. Satori didn't need to check up on his sister because she was hugging Junshin when he looked over to them. Junshin saw Satori's gaze and nodded to him acknowledging to him that Tenten was fine. Gintokin lent his aid to the others who really didn't need it.

"What's going on, Aoba-sensei?" Satori asked.

"It would appear that someone has found a way to begin Suetsukata."

"The end of the world?"

Aoba nodded.

"There's always someone." Satori said. "They can't ever be happy with what they have so they have to try and ruin it for the rest of us."

"Well, we're not going to let that happen." Aoba said straightening his sunglasses. "Let's go."

The ground rumbled again as the Konoha team leapt through the village.

"The quakes are getting worse." Seika said.

"We need to find him and stop him." Junshin said.

"But how do we do that?" Hanako asked.

"Kage Bunshin." Satori said. "Hanako and I will create some clones and we'll send them out to find whoever is responsible."

Hanako and Satori both put their hands into the appropriate seal formation and in unison said. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

About 15 clones of both Hanako and Satori appeared in a cloud of smoke. Then they all leapt in separate directions.

"We should be able to find the guy shortly."

The creatures landed near Nidan who was on top of one of the taller buildings in the village.

"You've failed me yet again. There is no excuse for your failure." Nidan said.

He did a sequence of handseals and once finished the creatures howled and screamed as if they were in a lot of pain. They then turned a bright yellow and melted away into nothingness.

"I'm going have to do this myself. I'll destroy the village and the Konoha team along with it." He said before leaping away.

The Konoha team leapt through the village dodging what at first seemed to be random lightning strikes but after the first two, they knew they were about as random as Hatake Kakashi reading a book written by Jiraiya.

"These strikes are a real bother." Gintokin said.

"Once we find the guy behind this, we'll stop him." Aoba said.

"Found him." Seika said.

"What?"

"Found him. He's over there on top of that building. Well that's where I sense a high amount of chakra."

They couldn't see anything from their current position."

"Confirmed." Yukino said with her Sekigan eyes activated. "Someone is over there. It's the only heat signature I'm seeing."

"Let's go."

Daiyajin stood at the base of the building that housed his office. He looked up to see his thought to be loyal subordinate Nidan at the top of it controlling the elements.

"What are we going to do, Daiyajin-sama?"

Daiyajin didn't have a helpful answer. He wanted to say he had a plan but that would've been a lie.

"We'll have to leave it to the team from Konoha. We can't do anything about it. He's too powerful for us to handle." Daiyajin looked to his followers. "Your service is greatly appreciated my friends but if this is the end, go spend it with your families."

"But Daiyajin-sama…"

"Go. That's an order. I'll be fine by myself."

The group was hesitant at first but then they all left. Once they were gone, he looked back up to Nidan, hoping that something would happen to end this madness before the island was destroyed.

Nidan stood on top of the building with his hands held high. Chakra emanated from him as he unleashed hell from the sky and earth. He looked down to see a group of people standing there. He knew it was Daiyajin and his few subordinates. He also knew that the Konoha group was on its way as well. He figured he'd wait and get them all at once.

Then an explosion erupted behind him. He lowered his hands and turned around to see the Leaf team behind him. He was a bit surprised that they didn't attend to Daiyajin before heading up here but it didn't matter to him any. He was going to destroy them anyway.

"Time to end this." Aoba said.

"I couldn't agree more." Nidan replied. "Shouton: Hashu Garyu no jutsu." (Crystal Element: Burst Crystal Falling Dragon Technique.)

Crystals appeared out of nowhere and molded into a dragon.

"Dragon, eh?" Satori said as he did a long series of handseals.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu." (Water Element: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)

A dragon made of water appeared just like the crystal dragon, out of nowhere, and attacked the crystal dragon.

"Now, Hanako." Satori said.

"I know, I know. Raiton: Raikyuu no jutsu." (Lightning Element: Lightning Ball Technique)

Hanako charged up a ball of electricity and launched into the water dragon. The water combined with the electricity was able to break through the crystal dragon and proceed towards Nidan, who in turn leapt into the air to avoid the attack.

"How did you make that water dragon if there is no water around?" Nidan asked.

"It's an island. There's plenty of mist in the air to create all the water dragons I damn well please."

Nidan did more handseals. "Shouton: Shishou Kyou no jutsu." ( Crystal Element: Amethyst Mirror Technique)

Nidan put the base of his palms together and a mirror formed at his hands then became larger as it moved away from him.

"Suishou Bunshin no jutsu." (Amethyst clone technique)

Clone of Nidan walked out of the mirror and surrounded the Konoha team.

"Great. We have more crystal using bastards around." Seika said getting into a defensive stance.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu." Satori said.

Satori's clones helped even the odds. Satori drew his sai weapons, Gintokin unsheathed his sword, Tenten summoned two chained scythes while the rest drew out kunai and shuriken.

"Let's take 'em." Junshin said.

As the Konoha team fought the clones, the real Nidan backed off and hid himself to finish what he had started. He began more hand seals. Aoba noticed him.

"We can't let him finish." He said.

"No kidding." Seika said.

The Leaf team members fought harded to finish off their clone opponents quickly so they could stop the real Nidan. Hanako was the closest after her opponent shattered. She turned and activated her Raikyuu jutsu. She threw it at Nidan but was stopped by a wall of crystal. It was just enough of a diversion to give Nidan the time to complete the seals. He stopped on the seal of the Ram and the ground began to shake hard. All of the Nidan clones were defeated and the Leaf ninjas put their undivided attention on Nidan. Satori belted both his sais and took off running. He leapt into the air and cocked his arm back.

"Katon: Ryu-ken no jutsu." (Fire Element: Dragonfist Technique)

He thrust his fist forward but it was stopped by a wall of crystal that surrounded his arm and prevented him from going any further. Normally, his fist would've bust through it but since the crystal formed around his arm, it stopped his motion and didn't allow his fist to touch anything.

"What the hell?" He said.

A spike began to form from the crystal and headed for Satori's torso.

"Shit." He said as he leapt back. It reminded him of Sasuke's fight with Gaara a few years back during the Chuunin Exam.

Junshin ran up and threw kunai, shuriken and needles at Nidan but they were all stopped by the crystal wall. Naturally, Junshin wasn't done there. He held up his index and middle fingers.

"KATSU!"

The chakra infused metal exploded. Once the dust and smoke cleared, a circular crystallized ball had formed around Nidan.

"Who the hell does this guy think he is? Gaara?" Seika said.

"Our attacks can't seem to get to him." Yukino said.

The Leaf team huddled together.

"You've got a plan don't you?" Satori said pointing to Aoba. "A way we can take this guy out. Come on, fill us in."

Aoba knew Satori was right. He did have a way to take out Nidan but he didn't want to use it.

"You're right. There is one way." Aoba said. He looked around to his teammates and saw their faces of determination to beat this guy. They were still young and had their lives ahead of them but they were ninjas of the Leaf village and would lay their lives down just to take out one guy. "We'll have to surround him and build up our chakra within ourselves and release it all at once."

"Oh great, Aoba-sensei. We do that, not only would it destroy him and us, it will leave a blast radius half a mile wide."

Aoba nodded. "We'll take out everything within a quarter mile. Ourselves with it. I just hope it will be enough to take him out before he can destroy everything else."

Satori gave a worried look to Yukino who returned the look but she nodded to him to let him know she was ok with it. Satori gave a reassuring smile before turning back to Aoba.

"It's a great plan count me in."

The ninjas stood up and surrounded Nidan.

"Build up chakra." Aoba instructed.

They all put on hand up to chest level and extended their index and middle fingers. Their chakra flow became visible around them.

"Well, I guess this is it." Hanako said.

"Yeah, it's been nice working with you guys. You too, Junshin." Seika said.

"Hey same to you Seika, only don't call me, I'll call you, okay?" Junshin said with a grin as he grasped Tenten's hand.

Satori and Yukino also grasped each other's hands. Yukino closed her eyes and a tear escaped from her control.

_Hitomi_

Gintokin closed his eyes. _I guess I'll see you soon, Nee-san._

"Shouton: Hashu Garyo no jutsu." (Crystal Element: Burst Crystal Falling Dragon Technique)

A dragon came out of the sky and attacked Nidan. The Leaf ninjas leapt out of the way wondering where that attack came from. It had disrupted their technique. They saw where it came from. It was Kalsha.

"Kalsha, what are you doing?"

"I can't let you destroy our new home. What you're doing is wrong."

"I'm right." Nidan said. "Everything else is wrong."

The two began to do battle.

In unison they said. "Shouton: Suishou Tou no jutsu." (Crystal Element: Amethyst Blade.)

A blade formed over their forearms and continued fighting. Kalsha came down and jammed the tip of his crystal blade into the neck of Nidan. Kalsha grinned for a second before he realized that he was fighting a clone. The real Nidan came out and stabbed Kalsha in the back of the head. Kalsha dropped to the ground dead.

Aoba realized this was their chance to attack. "Just one chance. We have to hope that he weakened him enough for our attacks to affect him. Attack."

They all did a series of hand seals and launched their long range attacks. A crystal wall appeared taking on all of the attacks at once.

"Keep it up. Don't stop." Seika said.

"Some how I kinda figured that." Junshin said.

The force of the attacks was too great and finally broke through the crystal wall and made their way to Nidan. He didn't stand a chance against all of the attacks at once. The intensity of all of the attacks vaporized Nidan into oblivion.

At Nidan's death, the sky cleared up and the earthquakes stopped. Nature seemed to return to normal. The Leaf team looked exhausted from their battle.

"I think I need a vacation." Satori said.

The next day, Aoba stood in front of Daiyajin on the shore line. The Konoha team was ready to board the boat back to the mainland.

"We can never thank you enough for your efforts here." Daiyajin said.

"We're glad we could help."

Aoba and Daiyajin shook hands before Aoba and his teammates boarded the ship and headed for home.

The End.

Next: Naruto Shippuuden: A Time to Love


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